Europe’s Demographic Crisis

A new study illustrates the continuation of an ominous trend in Europe—ominous, that is, when you understand the history and prophecy of how Europe will deal with this trend.

This week, a European Commission paper was published pointing to the “serious consequences of an ageing population on Europe’s economies” (EUobserver.com, March 16).

The problem? “No country in the EU currently has a birth rate sufficient to renew its population.” The EUobserver.com pointed out that the EU must exceed its target employment rate of 70 percent because the increasing number of retirement-ready employees is causing a drop in the labor force.

The solution? Not immigration, says the report; “its positive effects will be only temporary.”

Most Europeans would agree. The sentiment across Europe is swaying more and more against immigration. Another study, published this week in a report by the European Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia, found that almost half of Europeans had a “critical attitude toward cultural and religious diversity” (ibid., March 16).

Even while commentators boast about the secularization of Europe, the Trumpet has long contended that religion will increasingly dominate the Continent—and intolerance against non-”Christian” faiths will only increase.

But, back to the labor void and Europe’s wariness to turn to immigration, the Trumpet has also reported on this trend. Our September/October 2003 article “Who Will Fill the Labor Void?” poses a particularly startling and unsavory scenario of how Europe will deal with this demographic crisis.

It is important to understand, as this article describes, how nations like Germany have dealt with similar problems historically, and how the Bible clearly prophesies that a German-led Europe will resort to these same tactics in times just ahead.